buzbarstow

It's been a few days since I last tweeted but didn't have much time, so wanted to say a bit more about @AMSfungi's new paper in @NatureComms on the systems biology of rare earth biomining. nature.com/articles/s4146… @AtkinsonCenter @CornellCALS @ARPAE

I am a huge fan of Buz and Esteban, so this conversation about biology and geology was as fun as it was educational. Also, listen out for Buz's 6 book recommendations!

Thanks to @D_R_Goodwin and @HomeworldBio for having me and Esteban Gazel on their podcast to discuss the Microbe-Mineral Atlas and synthetic biology and sustainability: 🎧Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the… 🎧Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/7gzlAg… @AtkinsonCenter, @CornellEng,…

I got 1 point (I don't think I've ever recorded music from the radio; not that I wasn't able to, but the quality would have been poor and it would have bothered me intensely even as a kid).

Researchers at @Cornell, funded in part by ARPA-E, have made recent breakthroughs in the basic science of how microbes interact w/ metals & minerals, and in engineering microorganisms that can extract metals from minerals and separate them. Learn more⬇️🦠 news.cornell.edu/stories/2025/0…

3 new studies have improved the efficiency of microbes that can more efficiently dissolve rocks — not only to extract metals for advanced technologies but also to speed natural processes that capture carbon dioxide. @buzbarstow @CornellCALS @CornellEng news.cornell.edu/stories/2025/0…

During the application window for Garden Grants, we will share problem statements describing challenges in biological GHGR. Today’s focus: Using microbes to speed up mineral weathering for carbon removal.

Geochemists and synthetic biologists from @CornellCALS and @CornellEng have collaborated to improve the efficiency of microbes that can dissolve rocks to extract critical minerals while speeding carbon sequestration from air. news.cornell.edu/stories/2025/0…

Critical study for America's energy and national security

China & Myanmar still dominate Dy + Tb supply — but cracks are forming. We just dropped REEx’s Heavy Rare Earth Rankings — built for Western investors, weighted by risk, mineralogy, and project stage. #rareearths #HREE #mining #criticalminerals t2m.io/66e4WY4Q

Launching a new weekly series about how capital, climate, and geopolitics are converging in the next American economy. My goal is to move beyond headlines and politics and talk about what actually needs to get built—and who’s doing the building. If this sounds up your alley,…

The McClintock Shed next to the Cornell Botanical Gardens, about a 5 minute walk from my lab. Transposons, so important to our work, were discovered here.

The totally magic new @AtkinsonCenter Hall at @Cornell today.

An ATV used for transport underground in the Empire State Mine. @AtkinsonCenter, @Cornell, @CornellCALS, @CornellEng.

Kyle at the open pit at the Empire State Mine during the first Microbe-Mineral Atlas sampling trip. Searching for new genes and new microbes for biomining. I took this with a ruggedized Pentax WG-90. I dropped it in the mud in the mine and it kept on shooting.…

Seen in Forest Home, NY, 🇺🇸.

Thanks to Daniel and Dustin from @RE_Exchanges for hosting me yesterday to talk about biomining rare earth elements. You can see the conversation here: youtube.com/watch?v=6yszwn… @CornellEng, @CornellCALS, @AtkinsonCenter.

Inside of Gates Hall yesterday afternoon.